


Search For Blood

by CovenBossSteve



Series: The Great Habari [2]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon), Witchsona Twitter
Genre: Death, Explosion, Fire, Impalement, M/M, PTSD, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28844712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CovenBossSteve/pseuds/CovenBossSteve
Summary: The unlikely arrest of the three men formerly of GreenLeaf Care leads to Aylen having to fight for his life against one of his and the Isle's greatest foes.
Relationships: Haarbete/Arkscra/Argare
Series: The Great Habari [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022619
Kudos: 1





	Search For Blood

Bits of gravel and dirt was pushed aside as the wheels of the Coven’s cart rolled along the forest road at a slower than preferred pace. About eight common Coven guards walked alongside the cart, eyes, and ears scanning the surrounding greenery to allow immediate action in the likely chance rebels attempted to free their prisoners.

The prisoners in question were three husbands of GreenLeaf Care. Haarbete, Aaargre, and Arkscra. All three had their hands and legs shackled up on account of their collective crimes of assisting, most often healing, members of the rebellion. Indeed, the once law-abiding and beloved healing trio that had made up GreenLeaf Care had long since abandoned their positions as men of oath, sworn to heal only those that respected and followed the Coven’s rule, to instead live out the rest of their days as wanted criminals that helped out and took care of their fellow, as the Coven’s higher-ups saw it, scum.

The scum that the three husbands had surrounded themselves with as they abandoned their highly kept clinic and home to instead live on the run. Making up camp somewhere different on each and every night across the lands known as the Isles in their endless and selfless search to help anyone that needed it, whether it ended up being an average passerby or a torn up member of the rebellion, all were granted and thankful for the expert healing of the three men.

It was this very lifestyle, however, that had made tracking this trio of crooks such an egregious task for the Coven as, by the time some guards had made it to a site where the three had been reported to have been seen, they were already long gone. Nothing left but small food crumbs and ash from an aged fire to act as one last bought of mockery to any guard looking over the grounds. That was, until now. In an event so lucky that members of both sides were convinced that it had been preordained by the Titan itself. 

The Coven had received word on a locally owned motel that had been housing a small collection of rebels within its doors. The loyalists' reports had ended up being true and, after a hearty battle amongst the guards and the criminals that ended in heavy damage being inflicted upon the previously mentioned motel, the rebels had been apprehended. Now, while the former healers of GreenLeaf had not been amongst the arrested, upon interrogation of the rebels on whether there were any more of them around or not, a blonde haired witch with dark skin and even darker eyes gave in to the Coven guards’ demands and ratted out the husbands. While not aware of their exact location, she told them that the three still likely had camp set up somewhere in the surrounding forest.

She and the rest of her friends were shipped off to the Castle as most of the guards remained in the area in search of the aging healers. The Coven squadron looked over and around every tree, inside every cave, and around every clearing for even the faintest sign of them. Despite a consistent effort throughout the day, it took the collection of Coven witches all the way up to sunset to find any trail or sign that the three wanted men were anywhere nearby. But, they did indeed eventually find evidence that someone had been through these woods with the finding of a messy trail of footprints which were leading to, according to the map, a small clearing sat near a riverbed. While the amount of footprints could very well be because of some multi-legged monster or witch, it was the closest thing to a trail the guards had found thus far. So the Coven masked witch that had been lucky enough to stumble upon the trail called out for his coworkers to come over as quickly as possible. They showed their fellow members the footprints, each and every single guard silently agreeing to follow the calling guard as they walked away in the same direction that the owners of the footprints had walked seemingly not too long ago, their weapons in hand.

\- 

Along with their previous agreement, all twelve guards could all also see and tell the utter exhaustion each felt after an entire day of what was starting to feel like an endless search for a trio of invisible ghosts. And despite their excitement at the idea of finally bringing three of the most elusive criminals in for the Coven, the main motivator at this point was just simply to get this over with so they could all go home and rest, hopefully. The world seemed to be in their favor, finally, that day as it took no more than half an hour for the small congregation to pause for a moment as the quiet crackle of a fire sounded in their ears.

Nodding to one another, the guards broke off and began sliding their feet and bodies between the debris that layered the forest floor in an effort to surround what they were hoping were the three men of GreenLeaf. They kept their ears strained, keeping track of the subtlest breaking of twigs and leaves as the rest of their fellow guards got into position. Once the sounds of the forest grew silent besides the crackle of fire and light conversation between what was likely several men, the guards stood. Waiting. Letting the silence build on. Patience being tested with the thick hush of the air. Until- “. We’re here with the Emperor’s Coven! You are-” they loudly trip, taking several moments to get back up “. You are under arrest!” A hand could be heard being brought swiftly to another guard’s mask as they muttered “. Titan dammit Chuck.” Their grievances directed rather blatantly at their, as they saw it, incompetent companion before both them and the rest of their secluded guards broke out from the underbrush and surrounded Haarbete, Argare, and Arkscra. All three men paralyzed from the immediate terror as the knowledge that the three had been caught and were, in all likelihood, utterly doomed set in.

And so the trio of husbands sat cramped in the crate built atop the cart that wheeled them to an almost certain punishment of petrification. They huddled and held each other as best they could through the chains and cuffs in desperate search of any form of comfort.

The trio were too caught up in their justified sorrow to notice the conversation taking place between the two guards guiding the cart upfront. The pair in question were both in their early twenties and had only been members of the Coven for about a year up till that point and, as such, had mostly been left with small, menial jobs. In all reality, this had been their first big mission and after getting a taste of real action, the pair wanted more “. And how exactly do you think we’re going to get a promotion, Lux?” A sarcastic female voice asked her friend sitting to the left, manning the cart “. I don’t know. Okay?” He responded slightly downtrodden “. Look I’m just sick of walking around a building to the right for half an hour before getting the oh so exciting twist of walking around the same building for another half hour. Only this time! It’s to the left! Wow!” Even with the mask on, Lux’s friend could tell by his mannerisms, scrunched up shoulders, head strained down, and lying back with a bent back, how upset he was with their positions.

-

She sighed for a moment as she bent towards her lap, turning to her side to offer her friend a comforting hand on the shoulder, giving it a squeeze “. Look, I get it, man. I expected a lot more from this job too. But, you got to be fair with us. We’ve only been members for like a year. The guys going out there, fighting rebels, risking their lives? They’ve been in this place for like two or three years plus! They know how to handle themselves.” Lux turned to her with an audible whip “. And we don’t?” He asked angrily “. That’s not what I meant!” She responded as she drew back from her friend’s sudden outburst “. I’m sorry L-” “. No.” Lux interrupted her “. No. Look please don’t apologize Cassandra. Really. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Lux didn’t even look his friend in the face as he spoke, but it was clear to Cassandra and would be to anyone else that saw him, that Lux had gotten himself stuck in a deep pit of guilt over his outburst. She wasn’t really sure what to say, so instead of speaking Cassandra just did what felt natural and wrapped her left arm around their friend in a sideways hug as she pulled herself closer to him. Lux sighed.

-

The two sat there for a couple more minutes in the embrace before they were forced out of it by the cart’s abrupt stop. Cassandra bounced up and just about fell off of the vehicle if it weren't for Lux quickly shooting up, grabbing her arm, and yanking them back down. That, as a result of the aforementioned stop, left the two, and to a lesser extent the rest of the present guards near the cart, in a state of mild shock that required them all to take a few quick breaths to help ground themselves back into the world around them. Such a state was gained back rather quickly and was soon followed by Lux carefully stepping down to check the wheels which, as it turned out, had gotten caught in a strange, tar like substance that the young Coven member was almost positive hadn’t been there before.

Before that thought could build, however, a scream sounded that forced Lux’s body to turn as he saw one of the older guards frozen in a block of ice, soon followed by several others. Three of them had managed, just barely, to react quick enough with some fire spells to melt the ice that had been growing around them moments before. The scattered trio readied a gallery of spells as they stood their ground, keeping their ears strained as they listened for the slightest change in nature’s orchestra. The leaves blew and the trees let out their heavy groans. The world around them felt frozen yet so active. Lux and Cassandra looked at each other with synchronized nods, the pair taking the opportunity to quietly tiptoe away from the clearing into the nearby forest in some small hope they could escape the fate of their fellow Coven members.

Their pace was quickened pretty early on in their escape when the loud whip that made the presence of the hook now digging deep into the part of the cart that held the three men of GreenLeaf known. The two youngest of the guards took off just as a dark figure in a black bodysuit and white mask zipped from the woods, hitting one of the attacking guards with a kick and bringing him with them to bash them into the cart with a crack coming from the wood. The guard in question fell unconscious almost immediately, the other two combining their strength to create a large abomination circle. One they were unable to complete as a surge of vines wrapped around the pair and yanked them to the ground with a thud, the pair struggling and squirming in a vain attempt to escape.

The caster of the vines, one Aylen Faust, leader of the vampires, marched out of the woods with his staff in hand. He looked to the mask figure who merely gave the vampire a small nod before moving out of the way of the cart to make their journey back into the depths of the forest. Aylen looked on for only a moment before rushing towards the cart holding his adoptive fathers. As strong as Aylen was, he still knew it would only be a matter of time till the two guards made their way out of the vines, so while on his path to his dads he made sure to cast a small sleeping spell on the two, watching for a split second as drowsiness took hold of their faces and eyes . 

It took all but a few seconds for him to reach the cart holding his father’s captive. He raised his staff up and, using illusion magic, morphed it into the shape of a rather sharp blade “. Stand back guys!” Aylen called out, giving the three men a moment to loudly shuffle around to the other side of the cart from where their son’s voice had come from. It was once their sounds of movement had deafened that Aylen chose to finally let out a tight breath he was holding, quickly bringing the blade down and slashing through the metal separating him from his parents. A metallic tear, loud enough to cave weaker ground, sounded as Haarbete, Argare, and Arkscra flinched slightly. Both from the noise and their child’s action.

But the smile that spread on Aylen’s face, the look of pure relief, it made both it and every bad thing that had happened previously to the husbands more than worth it. Aylen swallowed some happy tears as he looked down at the guard that the Forest Spirit had knocked out. The twinkle of silver keys caught the vampire’s eye especially, leading him to bring his hand down from where they had shown and ripped them from the unconscious man’s belt. Aylen hopped into the now open side of the cart, cycling through and testing out each key that had been on the guard’s belt until, luckily, one of them just happened to be the one to the GreenLeaf men’s cuffs. The thud of metal was heard several times over followed by the creak of the cart moving as the trio pulled Aylen into a tight hug. It had been a long time since the four had been together like this and, despite the circumstance, they were all too overwhelmed in the moment with joy to focus on anything else.

Eventually Argare, and soon the other two broke away slightly from Aylen and looked at their son’s face, teary eyed “. Aylen.” Argare managed to choke out “. How did you-” “. I’ll explain when we get home. Come on.” Aylen waved his hand, ushering for his three fathers to follow him as they made quick work of dashing towards and into the nearby undergrowth.

But as they did such, Lux looked on from a nearby bush located near the edge of the clearing. He grabbed onto Cassandra’s hand and gestured for her to remain silent as he quietly made his way towards where the four men went. With little effort, Lux managed to find the tracks leading in the direction the posse of crooks had gone, and, grabbing his friend’s hand once more, he quietly followed the trail.

The pair traveled likely for around two hours, eventually having to give up on following the footprints of their enemies, instead having to find vague signs and hints that people had been there. Everything from broken twigs and sticks, to crushed leaves and displaced branches sprinkling the woods as Lux and Cassandra circled around the woods in, at times, seemingly random directions. They both took this as a good sign that Aylen and his fathers had taken the extra measure to ensure difficulty in finding them all through the creation of a twisting and turning trail that at times rounded back to older parts in the path. It, admittedly, made tracking them take significantly longer but was far from enough to keep the friends from following the criminals.

It was around sunrise when Lux and Cassandra broke through the edge of the forest into a relatively large clearing, resting in the center of itself was a small, white, two story house. Cassandra was ready to charge the home if it weren’t for Lux raising an arm up in front of her chest “. One of the most powerful and influential wild witches alive is hiding in that house, Cassy. And as much as I’d love to go in there now and arrest them all, we don’t stand a chance.” Cassandra looked at her friend, eyes darting down for a moment in consideration before looking Lux back in the eyes, nodding “. So what do we do then?” Lux turned towards the house “. We know where his house is. All we have to do now is tell the Coven. They’ll deal with it from there.” He looked back towards his friend, the mere motion of his movements clearly looking from approval from his friend over the plan. Cassandra nodded, quietly agreeing with Lux as the two carefully made their way back through the woods, ready to report their findings to the Coven.

-

The bronze metal of Habari’s helmet gleaned from what few rays of sunlight broke through the forest top. The collection of guards around him breaking away two by two in opposite directions as they circled Aylen’s house. By the time Habari had reached the edge of the clearing surrounding Aylen’s house, the man stood alone. His men all off in separate parts of the surrounding woods in wait for his order to attack.

The elder Coven member looked towards the house, the sanctuary, of one of his greatest and most infamous targets. The eye holes of the helmet began glowing a bright green as he prepared a powerful plant spell, the ground shaking and slight cracks in the windows of Aylen’s home forming as three large vines burst from the ground, bringing themselves down with a force as they destroyed Aylen’s home.

Clouds of dust clouded the once stable home, sharp remnants of the once beautiful building occasionally stabbing their way through the clouds of micro materials and debris. As this was happening, Habari’s men took the chance to charge towards the home of the eldest Faust. But before they could get very far, a powerful and sudden burst of wind violently blew the guards away, deep into the woods. All but Habari, mentally prepared far in advance for such a chance as tight vines enclosed his feet and firmly held him to the Earth as the white of his cape nearly flew off itself from the fury of the blast.

As he expected, once the dust had settled, all who remained standing was him and Aylen, the vampire heaving heavily as a look of pure hatred and flaming anger completely taking over his eye and face. Said emotions only growing more intense as his eyes finally met Habari’s “. They're gone!” Aylen spat “. My parents. Shadow. They’re not here, asshole! They’re gone!” Aylen waved his staff to the side as he tried to control the slight shaking of his body as a result of the pure, unbridled intensity of his emotions.

Aylen hated this man. Hate. Hate. Hated him! Hated him with every bone in his body. For as long as he had known this man- No, this beast, he had done nothing but hurt and at times kill people he held dear for the sake of some disturbed idea of order and control over the people. Control over their freedoms without the slightest hint of guilt or remorse for any of it. Aylen didn’t believe in pure evil, as much as he wished he did sometimes. The idea of someone being born purely to cause pain and suffering to all they encountered just didn’t make sense to him and went against everything Aylen’s biological parents had taught him. But, if pure evil did exist, if it was real, Aylen was fully convinced Habari was it.

The vines around the Coven member’s feet retreated back into the ground as he began stepping towards the vampire “. Oh, I’m fully aware.” That was all Habari said before quickly casting a sharp spike of ice directly below Aylen. The vampire managed to dodge back as he transformed for all but a second into a bat just in the nick of time to avoid the impalement. Habari didn’t let up. The man began to bombard Aylen with a long series of smaller spells that each created a small, but nevertheless deadly vine towards the vampire. Aylen, brandishing his staff, turned the object into a large blade with illusions to quickly swipe at and cut away each of Habari’s attacks.

Aylen knew he had to do something soon. In this moment Habari had the upper hand and it would only be a matter of time till Aylen either missed one of the vines or tripped back. These thoughts were proven wrong, however, as Habari suddenly snuck in a much stronger vine spell amongst his barrage that sent a much thicker attack that Aylen was too tired at that point to effectively cut through. Leading to a rather nasty sounding hit to the chest that sent the vampire flying back towards a recently grown patch made up of sharp jabs of ice.

Turning his body around in a panic, Aylen cast a burning hot spell of fire to melt the ice. While this of course saved his life, his close proximity to the attack ended with him getting burnt by quite a few of the embers as he landed on the ground. Old memories of his fight with Ventilla filled his mind, the fight that left him forever scarred the way he was now. He quickly shook these thoughts away though, small tears forming in the corners of his eye. With Habari far from through with his assault, there was no time to let the past, as painful as it is, slow Aylen down.

The seven foot plus tall man rushed towards Aylen, illusion magic creating rather large gauntlets around his hands as he swung his fists at Aylen. The vampire, out of panic, created illusion shield after illusion shield to block the man’s attacks. Casting and dissipating the shield each time to make the swing back to block the next attack easier. But, much like with the vines, the consistent ferocity of the attacks was beginning to take its toll on Aylen’s stamina. If he was going to get out of this fight alive, he was going to have to start taking more risks.

So, following that logic, Aylen hit Habari’s attack this time around with an explosion spell that sent both men flying back into the ground. Due to his smaller stature, Ayeln was able to succeed at being the first one up. An opportunity he took quick advantage of as he swung his staff. Once more the ground shook as a large, carnivorous flower broke from the ground below Habari, closing its jaws around him with a loud and satisfying snap as it burrowed back into the soil.

Aylen stood still, eyes looking over the spot where Habari had been dragged into the ground. He let out a sigh, taking the moment of peace as a chance to catch his breath. Turning away, Aylen prepared to turn into his bat form to fly away to his and Shadow’s new hideout to avoid any more large-scale attacks like these on him and his family, but he was sadly interrupted by the sudden crack of the Earth’s crust. Aylen quickly turned back around, eye shooting up twice its size as he saw Habari raise himself from his dirt laden tomb with vines wrapped around his arms and waist, the slight hint of green remains and water covering his outfit giving Aylen more than enough of an idea as to what his summoned plant’s fate had been.

Aylen had half a mind to transform right then and there to escape if it hadn’t been for his attacker’s next move. Habari brought his hands together and brought them down to create a large spell circle. A light breeze was created from its might, his cape blowing lightly in the breeze, soon after being pulled forward as Habari shot a powerful beam of powerful energy at Aylen. The vampire whipped around, pointing his staff towards the blast and using what was left of his energy to shoot his own beam at Habari’s. The two beams collided. A bright flash of light shot out from the collision for miles, soon after followed by a thunder like rumble disrupting the peace of the forest. The trees, grass, even the two witches themselves struggled to hold their ground to the sheer force of their attacks. Heat was building in both their bodies and weapons, neither of the men letting up as they stood their ground to see who would falter.

A second, even brighter flash of light shot out from where the two attacks met right before a massive explosion finally let itself out from all the pent up energy of the beams. A massive, scorched crater was left where the beams had met as Habari was sent straight through the trunks of several trees before harshly hitting the ground. Aylen nearly suffered a similar fate but was able to transform into his bat form and take a quick turn upwards towards the sky and away from the nearing trees.

The vampire was utterly exhausted after everything that had happened. But he knew stopping now, returning to the ground below, put him at great risk of Habari finding him again. So, without so much as looking back at his opponent, Aylen flapped his wings tiredly and made his way back to his family.


End file.
